


Winter to Spring

by Penguiduck



Series: Frolic and Play (The Eskimo Way) [10]
Category: Howl no Ugoku Shiro | Howl's Moving Castle, Howl's Moving Castle - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Holidays, One Shot, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert, Snow, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:22:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21897376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Penguiduck/pseuds/Penguiduck
Summary: You're tired of this thing called winter.[Reader x Howl]
Relationships: Howl Pendragon/Reader, Howl Pendragon/You
Series: Frolic and Play (The Eskimo Way) [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1551817
Comments: 6
Kudos: 139





	Winter to Spring

**Author's Note:**

> This was a one-shot in response to an old challenge that I did for a fic swap with a friend! (There were originally ten one-shots. This is 10/10. I may add more to this series if I get any more holiday ideas!)
> 
> Theme: Winter to spring (which I used as a title because it seemed appropriate, lol)
> 
> Howl is always a popular choice, hm? ;) Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone! For now this is the final contribution to the series.
> 
> Enjoy! Your thoughts and kudos are always welcome! <3 Please check out end notes for my monthly raffle for the fulfillment of a one-shot request!

“Howl, I thought I told you to keep your laboratory clean.”

“Does it bother you?”

“Well,” you started, gesturing with your hands. “If I can’t get through the door and see the floor, much less walk on it, yes. I say it does bother me.” You were trying to clean the castle, but you couldn’t even reach the windows to wipe them down.

“My dear, no need to be so flustered.” He set down the book he had been perusing. “I think you’ve been cooped up inside for far too long.”

You leaned against the frame of the door. “There’s really not much to do when it’s blizzarding outside.”

“That depends on which door you use.”

“We only have four doors, and they’re all blizzarding. It’s winter, after all.”

“Only in some parts of the world.” He glanced at you with a mischievous glint in his eyes, his blonde hair framing his face. He stood from his chair, setting his book down with a delicate hand. “Let’s see what magic we can muster, shall we? Darling, to the laboratory, please.”

You rolled your eyes as you followed him. You loved Howl, but he was sometimes a bit too spontaneous, even for you. He often neglected things that needed doing because he thought his experiments or curiosities were important. That was not to say, however, that he was a bad person; he actually treated you very well. He once told you that you were the light of his life, and Calcifer went as far to tell you that you were the first thing to make him smile since Sophie had left him. You took some pride in that, but you also understood why she chose to leave; he was so hard to keep grounded.

You entered the laboratory, where Howl searched through several items. “Oh, yes, just what I need,” he said beneath his breath, and with something tucked into his palm, he left the room as quickly as he came.

You didn’t even bother asking what was going through his head -- you had learned that once he had his mind made up, there was nothing else for you to do.

“Would you like a lesson in mobility transmutation?”

Now, this was what you were interested in. Ever since you had left Kingsbury Academy of Magic, you had taken all of your lessons from Howl. Although not exactly the scholarly type, he was quite intelligent and very knowledgeable about magic and its applications. 

You nodded as he made his way toward the front door. 

“See these switches?” he said. “Normally, there are four of them, but I can add a new switch whenever I please. Since we’re tired of these wintery months and the bleak skies, darling, we can select another destination.” He began to explain how he would use chalk to sketch out a particular rune that would momentarily release the other portals. 

“Where can we go?” you asked. You thought about all of the wonderful places in the world, especially those with sunshine and warmth. 

“Anywhere you please, but for right now, I have a place in mind.”

“And where’s that?”

“Let me show you.” He continued with his handiwork, a spell or two underneath his breath, and before long, you heard a deft click. The switch above had turned to a new color -- purple. You had never seen that color on the switch before, and you knew that Howl must have had something special in store for you.

“Go ahead,” he said smoothly as he indicated the doorknob with his hand. “Open it, darling.”

You touched the handle, and with a silent breath, you turned it, revealing the light on the other side. It leaked in through the crack in the door, and you pulled it open so you could see everything. Your eyes went wide. 

The scene before you was gorgeous, and the chill wafted in from the glistening of a transition. It was a wonderland of vast proportions. You saw the trees, still relatively bare but for the small hints of green that were laced along the end of the twigs. The ground was covered in small patches of grass, each blade still fine and young as it pushed its way from the moist soil. Even so, there was some white, glimmering in the bold smile of the sun.

You walked out, your head tilted upward as you walked among the forest, surrounded by majestic trees that were just waking from their hibernation. There was a sense of serenity here, a quiet magic that seemed to rest in this world. Although some snow was still here, the chill was not bad -- you were comfortable in the thin sweater that you were wearing, though you wondered if you were just too excited to notice the cold.

“Howl,” you said, “it’s beautiful!”

“I thought you might like it.” He was just a few footsteps behind you, walking steadily with his coat draped carelessly over his shoulders. 

“Where is this place?” you asked. A pair of birds fluttered above you, landing on the branch where a bare nest rested -- perhaps they were returning from a journey where it was warmer.

Howl wrapped an arm around your shoulder as he watched the birds with you. “It’s another kingdom to the southwest. They don’t welcome visitors and guard their borders jealously, but I figured they’d never really know if we popped in from time to time.”

Water dripped from the ice melting from the branches, sparkling with each descent to the ground. A breeze chased a butterfly as it wandered by, while you saw a squirrel digging up something it hid earlier in the year.

“How did you know that I would like this place?”

“You’ve been whining about the cold since October, darling. I thought there’d be nothing better for you than to visit a place where winter was coming to an end.”

“You know me so well!” you said, leaning up to kiss his cheek. “What other presents do you have for me before the holidays?”

He smiled. “You won’t get any secrets out of me before I’m ready to reveal them.”

You gave him a knowing look, an eyebrow raised for added effect. “Are you sure? I can be very persuasive.” 

“Then try me,” he chuckled. “We have all afternoon.” And he gently led you toward the forest for a day of adventure, enjoying the transition from winter to spring.

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to draw your attention to my raffle to thank those who have left or will leave future comments on my works: [An Expression of Thanks](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20227408/chapters/47937112). If you like raffles and enjoy having your fanfiction requests fulfilled, take a look. ;) I encourage you to check it out! This occurs monthly, so there is always an open raffle.
> 
> Follow me on [Tumblr](https://penguiduck.tumblr.com/) for updates and insight on my writing process!


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